Radio Listening

Governor: Steve Kelley

SNAPSHOT Sen. Steve Kelley's campaign ended on June 10, 2006 when he lost what became two-person battle for the DFL endorsement during the party convention in Rochester.

He stressed education as
his principal issue in the 2006 campaign. He serves as chairman of the Senate
K-12 Budget Committee, which often puts him at odds with Gov. Tim Pawlenty.
Kelley, a third-term senator from Hopkins, is one of the Pawlenty administration's leading critics, especially when it comes to education matters. As chairman of the Senate Education Committee, he led the hearings that resulted in the ouster of Education Commissioner Cheri Yecke and he helped draft the state's new academic standards after disagreeing with ones put out by Yecke.

Kelley has sought statewide office before. He tried but failed to get the DFL's U.S. Senate nod in 2000.
"It will be an energetic campaign from the very beginning," Kelley said.
There's a benefit to being an early entrant, he said. "Every subsequent story includes your name."

Major political experience:Former member of Board of Medical Practice. Elected
to the House in 1992, re-elected in 1994. Elected to the Senate
1996, re-elected in 2000, 2002. Attorney with Mackall, Crounse and
Moore law firm in Minneapolis since 1993. Lawyer at Dorsey and
Whitney law firm in Minneapolis 1979-83. Clerk to U.S. Court of
Appeals Judge Leonard P. Moore 1978-79.

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Candidate Pages

Minnesota Attorney General Mike Hatch is the DFL endorsed candidate for governor. Hatch won the endorsement on Saturday in Rochester, beating out state Senators Becky Lourey and Steve Kelley. The endorsement makes Hatch the clear frontrunner to take on Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty but he will have to win the DFL primary first.
(06/11/2006)

Klobuchar easily won the backing of the vast majoirity of delegates to the state DFL convention underway this weekend in Rochester, winning on the first ballot with 78 percent of the vote.
(06/09/2006)

Minnesota Democrats will endorse a candidate for governor at the party's state convention in Rochester on Saturday. Vying for the endorsement are Attorney General Mike Hatch, state Sen. Steve Kelley and state Sen. Becky Lourey.
(06/09/2006)

The DFL candidates for governor will all be watching Tuesday's precinct caucuses to see what kind of support they enjoy from party stalwarts. Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Independence Party candidate Peter Hutchinson face no challenge within their parties.
(Midday,
03/07/2006)

Midday's Meet the Candidates series continues with gubernatorial hopeful Steve Kelley. State Sen. Kelley, DFL-Hopkins, chairs the Senate Education Committee and is in his third term in the Minnesota State Senate.
(Midday,
02/22/2006)

A candidate forum on business issues was the latest in which Attorney General Mike Hatch chose not to participate. Some Democrats are wondering why Hatch is keeping a low profile on the campaign trail.
(02/08/2006)

The 2006 race for Minnesota governor became more visible Friday, when four candidates shared a stage for the first time. Democrats Kelly Doran, Steve Kelley and Becky Lourey, and Independence Party member Peter Hutchinson spoke at a business forum on early childhood education. The four criticized Gov. Pawlenty's leadership in this area.
(11/18/2005)

Attorney General Mike Hatch is officially entering the governor's race. Hatch could be a formidable candidate, having won statewide office twice. But he also ran unsuccessfully for governor twice in the 1990s, and there's no guarantee he will get the DFL endorsement in '06. Several DFLers are already running for governor, and they say Hatch joining the race doesn't discourage them at all.
(10/23/2005)